


As Above, So Below

by Everyday_Im_Preaching



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: Chase is Determined, Chase is Pushy, Courting Rituals, Flirting, Gifts, M/M, Meet-Cute, Presents, Sea Dragon!Chase, courting, talk of mating, trans!Jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 18:17:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17006715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everyday_Im_Preaching/pseuds/Everyday_Im_Preaching
Summary: "What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams.” 
―Werner HerzogJack has always loved the sea. Ever since he was a child, he's found both comfort and mystery in the great, open ocean. Even in his adulthood, he can't help but chase its secrets-- not even a well earned vacation can stop him.

One night after a particularly satisfying day, a weird thumping against the side of the boat repays his lifelong curiosity: but not in any way he could have foreseen.





	As Above, So Below

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is the first time I've written trans!Jack, so if anything seems wrong/off/offensive, please let me know so I can fix it post-haste!
> 
> Otherwise, hi! If you like this fic (and would like me to write more trans!Jack) please leave me a comment below!

 

_ “What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams.”  _ _  
_ _ ―Werner Herzog _

 

Jack’s love of the ocean had started when he was young; his parents had brought him to America for the first time, to the long, golden coast of California. He’d stared at it with rapt, curious wonder, ignoring the way his mother had slathered on sunblock to save his fair skin from sunburn. He’d toddled off before she was finished, gathered in her arms and lectured on about sunburn and skin cancer—both things that Jack knew well enough about, even at seven, but had cared very little of at that moment.

The ocean was unknown him and therefore he needed to unravel it. Born and raised in inner Hong Kong, he’d never seen the ocean before, not like this. Not with its foam-capped waves, made up of greens and silvers and blues. Not with patches of sunlight wiggled around clouds to feel out the ocean below. Not with seagulls as far out as the horizon, little white beads of color resting atop an endless blue.

Now that he was older, he realised that the ocean was a lot harder to unravel, but he relished the challenge. Almost anyone who worked in oceanic science had to, on some level. The entire field was something of a challenge. Every scrap of research, every minute spent at sea—it was all to help further what the world knew of the ocean. (And to deepen his own pockets, but that was something else altogether.)

That included now.

Jack was supposed to be on vacation. He was supposed to be enjoying the sight and smell of the ocean, to enjoy the feeling of the deck rolling beneath his feet. And if asked, he’d swear that he was—but there was no reason for him to just lounge around, when he could be setting out small, noninvasive cameras close to where his ship listed.

The sun had begun to set, washing his world in a palette of orange and red. He went around the deck of his small craft, turning on the solar powered lights that littered it, close to the floor. He only wanted to see where to put his feet; he wanted to be able to see the stars, after all.

“The two greatest mysteries,” he murmured, flicking his eyes to the sky and then letting them slowly move to stare at the sea. It’d turned the color of old coins, reflecting the colors of the sky like a polished mirror. The water was calm tonight. Jack considered sleeping out on the deck tonight, but then remembered that, even out this far, there were birds willing to shit on him in his sleep.

He leaned on the railing and smiled up at the stars. “The sky and the sea. I’m lucky enough to have both out here.” He peered over the side of the ship. His reflection was near perfect, staring back at him with a content, amber gaze. Jack smiled at his mirror image and then gave it a cautionary wave. His reflection waved back.

Just as he lowered his hand, water came to splash him in the face. He winced away from it and took a step back, wiping the saltwater from his face. No doubt a frisky fish—he resisted the urge to scowl, letting it turn into a laugh instead. Fish had no idea what his boat was, let alone what  _ he  _ was. They were just doing what fish did.

“Hello to you, too,” he teased. He shook his head and returned to look over the side. Something dark flitted just below the surface of the water. “Don’t worry, I’m not fishing today. You’re safe.”

Jack briefly considered grabbing a smoke from the still-full pack under his mattress, then stopped himself. He was trying to quit, after all. He’d brought them, yes, but he’d sworn to be off of them by the time he got back to shore. Jack preferred that it was because he resisted the urge, not because he’d smoked them all. Instead he stared back down at the water; the dark silhouette had disappeared back into the sea, and he mentally bid it farewell.

“I guess it’s about dinner time,” Jack grumbled. It was good to stay on a schedule, out here on the open ocean. He grabbed his jacket from where he’d laid it and slipped down into the hold below.

The ship had a small galley—nothing terribly impressive, but enough space to cook a decent meal. An L-shaped couch occupied the corner, and when he lay down for the evenings, it’d fold out into something more substantial that could be used as a bed. Jack had taken the idea from the people who built tiny homes; that’s also where he’d got the idea for the fold-out table beside it, where he took his meals, studied, and did anything else that required a semi-hard surface to work on.

“But if they tried to touch him, well, he’d put them on the run,” Jack puffed out under his breath as he opened his small fridge. He had plenty of things stowed away for the long journey, but he also liked to fish whilst he was out here. “Cause why would I need a lover when I’ve got myself a gun?”

Jack knew he was butchering the lyrics, but he couldn’t help it. He appreciated a lesbian sea shanty just as much as the next man, but sometimes you wanted to have a fantasy about shooting handsy men. He pulled out a black bass he’d caught and cleaned the day before. Jack hummed the rest of the song under his breath—he was in just the right mood for fried fish.

Dinner was good and he was glad he hadn’t lost his taste for fish. He’d been eating it for  _ years,  _ but he was eating even more of it now that it was constantly available if he threw his line out. Jack had to clean up, and then he’d check the equipment above in the wheelhouse. He couldn’t anchor in the middle of the sea, of course, especially not with such a small ship—so he’d simply let his ship drift as he had for the last week.

Coming back onto the deck, Jack took a deep,  _ deep  _ breath. The night smelled crisp and heavy with salt—it was bracing.  _ Harsh.  _ Cold and refreshing enough to bring a familiar, yet new, wakefulness to Jack’s mind.

_ The night air always smells better at night,  _ he thought, drifting around the sides of the ship so he could reach the stairs to the wheelhouse. He could taste the salt too, as it nipped at his tongue. This feeling felt brand new, each time. He lived for it.

After a thorough check of his systems, Jack let himself duck back below deck—he unfolded his bed, wondering, again, why he bothered folding it in the first place. There were no visitors here, this far out at sea. And if there were, they wouldn’t judge him. He supposed there was something in keeping everything neat and in its place.

Jack grabbed a tablet from a nearby shelf; it was linked to the cameras hooked just below his ship. He’d spend an hour or two with what would most likely be footage of common fish caught in the soft light of his camera, but nothing more. Then he’d say a goodnight to both the seas and stars, and then curl into bed and let the ocean rock him to sleep. 

He woke up hours after he’d gone to bed— _ two hours,  _ he noted in his haze, staring at the clock on the wall. Jack pressed a palm to his eye and gave a long, lazy yawn. And then his hands flew out to grab the blankets around him as the boat rocked again. A resounding thud echoed through the ship, as if something large had smacked into it. He couldn’t have beached himself—there was no land for hundreds of miles.

Jack ran through a mental list of sea creatures that could be big enough to shake his entire boat; mostly it went to sharks, whales, orcas. He’d say a whale was most likely, but whales were enormous creatures. He felt as if he’d be capsized, unless it was an undersized calf. All the same, he wasn’t entirely concerned. Sharks weren’t horror movie monsters and orcas had little interest in humans and their fishing vessels.

That wasn’t going to stop Jack from checking it out, of course.

Jack shrugged his jacket on and grabbed a flashlight before heading up onto the deck. He shut the door to the galley behind him with a soft, careful click and then trudged up the steps.

The first thing he did was sweep his flashlight over the deck, to see if anything had fallen or been knocked out of place. It wouldn’t do any good if he lost some piece of equipment in the middle of the night—it was unlikely, because everything was tied down—but he didn’t want to risk it.

“If there are any creepy crawly, ocean-dwelling monsters on board, please show yourself,” Jack called to the empty air. He cocked his head to the side, listening to the sound of waves smacking against the side of the ship. “I promise I’m not going to kill you. In fact, I’m  _ pretty  _ kinky. We might be able to reenact some hentai, if you’ve got enough tentacles.”

Again, nothing. As expected. Jack yawned again and stretched his arms up over his head. In the midst of his stretch, the ship rocked again—he stumbled forward, toward the railing. The rock wasn’t enough to send him over the edge, but it did concern him. He began to walk toward the back of the boat, every step measured and careful. He kept a hand on the rail the entire time, humming softly to himself. Whatever it was, it was particularly frisky.

Or, for all he knew, it was just some floating debris from a shipwreck that hadn’t floated his way just yet. It definitely  _ felt  _ alive, but the ocean was deceitful. It would keep as many secrets as it could, even in something as simple as this. It was only when he’d made it to the stern that he asked himself why he hadn’t just checked his camera system. He wouldn’t have had to get out of bed for that.

Jack huffed and turned on his heel; he’d go back down to his nice, warm bed and curl up with his tablet. That would tell him exactly what was running into his ship.

“What was I expecting to find out here?” Jack asked himself. The ocean was too dark and vast to be split by a single flashlight. He pinned the flashlight in his armpit as he climbed up to the wheelhouse to check the equipment there. Maybe change course—he didn’t want to turn back necessarily, but it’d be nice to be pointed to land.

Busied with climbing, he almost didn’t hear the low hiss behind him. But when he did, the hair on the back of his neck rose and a chill that had nothing to do with the ocean air worked through him. Jack swallowed and sent a prayer to a god he didn’t quite believe in.

“I thought I told you to show yourself earlier,” Jack muttered quietly, not wanting to turn around. He tried to think of some sort of sea creature that could  _ hiss,  _ but his mind was frustratingly blank. He gave his head a slight turn, catching the faintest glow of something green. Something naturally luminescent, blinking like a firefly.

Jack slowly turned, when he realised that whatever it was wasn’t going to lash out at him whilst his back was turned. He fixed a wary smile to his face as he did so, though he didn’t dare show teeth. He wasn’t  _ that  _ happy, to be hissed at in the middle of the night.

The flashlight dropped from Jack’s hand and clattered to the deck. The sound was loud into the otherwise silent air, carrying over the waves but reaching no one else’s ears but his own—and that of the mermaid in front of him.

Jack used the term  _ mermaid  _ lightly. The creature before him had a thick, muscled tail that draped behind them and then  _ over  _ the side of the ship, stuck between two rails. They were darker than the night itself, creating a stark contrast with the white of the deck. A thick, muscled torso grew up from where the creature’s hips were, nippleless and smooth.

The creature hissed again and Jack stepped back to bump against the ladder behind him. Their black hair was shifting wildly, glowing with a bioluminescence that turned their already pallid green skin to neon. Claws dug into the metal deck, puncturing the metal but not helping them pull themself free.

“Okay, okay, you need to calm down, alright?” Jack told it, creeping to the side. “You can’t understand me, but if you keep wiggling like that, you’re going to hurt yourself.” He took a few steps toward the railing, and then carefully slid along it. If the mermaid—merman, whatever—if it was here to eat him, then so be it. But he wasn’t going to let them suffer, stuck in the railing of his ship.

They hissed at him as he came closer. He held up his hands, and then slowly,  _ ever  _ so slowly, he pointed at the mermaid’s tail. Jack then held up his hands again. The hissing stopped, as did the futile struggle to free themself. Jack hoped that that was a sign of cooperation, and not one of a predator lying in wait to pounce on its next meal.

The closer he got, the more of the mermaid he could see—he didn’t want to assign a gender to something he didn’t understand, but it was hard. They looked so much like a man, with their strong jaw and sharp cheeks.

“You better watch out,” Jack muttered as he finally reached the tail. He knelt down beside it, waiting to be struck at any moment. Peeking over the side of the ship, he could see  _ exactly  _ how long the merman’s tail was. “You better watch out,” Jack murmured again. He looked up to see the creature regarding him with well-founded suspicion.

“Let’s get you unstuck,” Jack told them, trying to keep his eyes anywhere but on their face. He could see teeth poking between human lips, ready to rip out his throat with a single lunge from their owner. If Jack was going to die, he’d prefer it be a surprise. Expecting your death was so much worse.

The mermaid was stuck pretty tightly. Jack was careful as he laid his hands on their tail, smoothing them along the slimy surface and looking for wiggle room. “You couldn’t have tried to squeeze through up here?” he asked, moving his hand to the space right above it. It wasn’t too much bigger, but it was big enough. “Also, how’d you get everything else through here? Your shoulders definitely wouldn’t have fit. Unless you were trying to slide off through here? Dumb decision.”

Jack slid a hand under the mermaid’s tail, wincing when it hissed.

“Look, I am trying to help you. Stop threatening me,” Jack warned. “I need you to crawl that way.” He pointed toward the wheelhouse and the mermaid followed his finger. Jack thought it did, anyway—its eyes were pitch black. “I’m going to put some pressure here.” He pressed lightly at the tail, getting another hiss. “Shut up, Jesus Christ. Crybaby.”

He slid his full hand under the bit of tail that was stuck and pushed upward—as if on instinct, the mermaid yanked themself forward. Jack was sure it wasn’t, by any means, because of his direction. The tail came free with a soft, slick pop, and a good ten feet of tail came up with it within seconds.

“Oh crap,” Jack muttered after a moment, realising that he now had an angry, fang-mouthed, sharp-clawed mermaid on the deck of his ship. He slowly turned his head to look at the creature, who looked twice as pissed as it’d been before. Jack didn’t have any time to move before he was smacked by a muscled tail—and then wrapped in it.

Jack yelped as he was dragged toward the mermaid.  _ This is how I die,  _ he thought, trying to find something to grab onto. But he had to claws. He had nothing to grab onto as he was dragged across the slick deck. He closed his eyes and prayed to whomever was listening that it was quick, at least.

A low growl rumbled against his ear as he was dragged under the mermaid. They thrust their face against the side of Jack’s neck, still growling. Their tail, which had been wrapped around his torso, tightened minutely. Jack jumped as his neck was nuzzled, and then  _ licked.  _ Was the mermaid… thanking him? That made the most sense.

“Chase,” they hissed out after a second or two. “I am  _ Chase _ . You are in my waters.” Every syllable sounded inhuman and forced. Jack’s eyes widened. If Chase could speak English, he sure as hell could understand it. At least, a little bit.

“I am,” Jack agreed. “But not to cause any trouble.” He was trying to think his way out of this. Chase’s face never left his neck, though it didn’t need to. Jack could feel their eyes on him. Burning  _ through  _ him. “I’ll leave, if you want. Won’t tell anyone about the whole being a mermaid thing and just go on home.”

Chase laughed, low and eerie in the back of their throat. The laugh quieted after a moment or two, followed by the shake of their head. “No. You will stay.” Fingers trailed down Jack’s sides, sending a shiver through him. “I am not offended by your presence. Just curious. You’ve no weapons on this ship, save for that pathetic little rod of yours.”

“You’re not wrong,” Jack squeaked, unsure of what else to say. He didn’t think he would  _ need  _ a weapon out here. “Could you get off of me then? I would really like to not be here, under you right now. You’re sort of sticky.”

With a grunt, Chase hauled themself off of Jack. They lay sideways on the ship’s deck, staring at him. Jack gave him an uncertain smile as they met eyes.

“What sort of human are you?” Chase asked, eyes flicking over Jack’s body.

“The not-tasty kind,” Jack replied without thinking. He blushed and then shook his head. “I, uh, I mean that I’m a scientist. But I’m on vacation right now.” He folded his legs underneath him, trying to ignore how much slime had been slathered on him from his recent entanglement. “What about you?”

Chase cocked a brow. “I am not a human.”

“I know you’re not a human,” Jack replied. “You’re missing the leg parts.” He pointed at the tail that was laid in a half circle around the pair. “I mean like, what sort of mermaid are you? If you are a mermaid.”

“I’m a male,” Chase corrected. “Though I can see where you might think otherwise. And my origins are not the same as the frivolous creatures known as  _ mermaids.”  _ He smiled, showing a mouth of teeth that had Jack’s stomach turning. There were so  _ many.  _ Too many for his mouth. “That is all you need to know. And you still have not answered my question.”

“What  _ is  _ your question?” Jack asked in return.

“Can you breed with my kind?”

Jack stared at him for a moment, shocked into silence. He swallowed and then shrugged his shoulders. “Uh, well, I haven’t done 23andMe.” At the look of confusion from Chase, he looked away. “I don’t know, I guess? Unless you’re asking if I want to.”

“You are male, but your form is soft. Pliable.” Chase’s tail twitched, but didn’t move. “I ask again—can you breed with my kind?” He’d crawled closer, letting his eyes slide down Jack’s form in what Jack could only translate to  _ hunger.  _ The sharp, hot kind that left him squirming.

“Depends on what you’re going to do with the information,” Jack replied.

“I am simply curious,” Chase huffed out. “Some humans have the capability. Others lack it. You are a puzzle and I thought to ask politely, instead of tearing you free of your trappings to find out myself.” His hair shifted of its own accord and Jack watched in mild interest as a tiny crab crawled out, and then back into the thick strands.

“My answer is that I don’t know,” Jack told him sternly. “They don’t offer testing for that sort of thing on land.” He grabbed for the ladder to help him stand, but found it hard to get a grip with the slime on his hands. Chase’s eyes never left him as he tried to get up.

Chase let out a low hum. “Then I suppose the only way to find out is to mate you, hm?”

“How about we don’t do that?” Jack suggested, heart stuttering in his chest. “I don’t like the idea of being fucked by men on  _ land  _ that I don’t know. I don’t even know what’s you’re packing down there.”

“Mating is not breeding.” Chase sounded offended. “Though I can see your point.” He slithered over, more like a snake than a fish. Faster than he should’ve been able to move. “What is your name?”

Jack looked up at him. God, he was  _ huge.  _ Larger than Jack had originally thought. “Jack,” he croaked out, unable to look away. “I… I’m going to go take a shower now. And go back to bed. I’m exhausted and this is just a tad too crazy for me to handle at the moment. If you’ll let me, uh. Go back to bed. And take a shower.”

“I have no intention to eat you, or injure you in any way,” Chase answered. “I will see you, Jack. I’ve no doubt that you will agree to mate with me, by the end of your stay on the water.” Jack nodded and then up on his feet. He slipped and slid around the wheelhouse, limbs working shoddily as he did so. He expected Chase to rear up at any moment, to sink his fangs into Jack’s soft flesh and tear it away, piece by bloody, agonising piece.

Jack pounded down the steps to the deck below, nearly slipping with each fierce, panicked step he took. He slammed the door behind it and locked it—and then checked the lock,  _ twice.  _ A third time, too, just to make sure.

He struggled to pull his slime-covered clothes off, nearly missing the small laundry hamper that was tucked beside his shower. Sure, he was soft. But most humans were soft.

Jack wrapped his arms around himself, trying to calm himself down. It was possible that Chase had meant something different. He looked down and sighed in relief as he saw the lack of nipples and the thick, post op scars where they’d removed his breasts. Chase couldn’t have known. There was no  _ way.  _ He was freaking out for no reason. Maybe merpeople could breed with males, too?

“That gave me the fucking heebie-jeebies,” Jack grumbled, tugging off his underwear. The slime had gone  _ everywhere.  _ It’d soaked through his shirt, his pants, his underwear—running his hand between his thighs, he shuddered.

There, too.

“This is just disgusting. Everything about it,” Jack announced as he reached down and gave the hot water knob a solid yank. He stepped into it before it’d even turned lukewarm. The cold water barely put a dent in the slime—Jack did a rudimentary scrub all the same, trying to scrape as much of the stuff off as possible. It wasn’t until the water turned hot that it actually  _ helped,  _ melting the slime as it came in contact with it. Jack then started to scrub with soap, making sure to get rid of every bit of the sticky, gross substance. It was a battle, but one that he eagerly fought. Washing the slime away was like washing the entire experience away.

All the same, Jack knew that it wasn’t a dream. He wanted it to be. The sea did crazy things to people’s minds. But the sticky clothing on the floor, the slime that now covered the steps to the galley—they were undeniable proof that the exchange had happened. But  _ why  _ had it happened? Had a mermaid really asked to mate him? Whatever  _ that  _ meant.

“That’s some level of fucked up,” Jack muttered to himself, trying not to think too much on it. “And that thing was  _ huge,  _ I wonder—” He stuttered as he remembered his cameras—he tried not to linger on the fact that he’d forgotten them twice this evening.

Jack barely had time to turn off the water before he was darting out, as naked as the day he was born. He danced around the piles of slime on the floor to reach the shelf where the tablet was stored. Jack wiped his hands off on his blanket and then snatched it up. He flicked through the camera feeds, rewinding them an hour and watching the screen as he did so for any sign of Chase.

Nothing.

He let it play, watching through it again. Jack stood there for an hour, transfixed by the dark water, waiting for something—anything—to further prove that he’d seen the creature. But there was nothing. He cursed and tossed the thing on the bed. One towel later, he was lounging on the bed, hair pulled into a loose ponytail. Jack had wanted to fall asleep. But instead, he found himself looking over the footage again, squinting at the screen.

It was dawn before he managed to fall back asleep. When he woke up it was just before noon, and still relatively chilly; Jack went about getting dressed and making himself a simple breakfast of oatmeal and toast. He climbed onto the deck, looking around warily.

He stopped before he reached the top step, eyes widening. A large cod was sitting in the middle of the deck, flopping weakly. It  _ had  _ to be fresh. But how? Cod didn’t just toss themselves onto ships.

“Are you hungry?” The voice from last night had Jack shuddering and twitching. “Eat. I’ve brought you something.” Dark eyes were peering over the edge of the ship, staring at him.

“I… I’ve eaten breakfast,” Jack squeaked. “But I’ll take it. I mean, thank you? Why did you bring this to me?”

The face disappeared, then reappeared near the railing to the left of Jack. “I plan to mate you. Gifts are typical when one intends to woo a mate, are they not? I have decided to try to mate you regardless of whether or not you can be bred.”

“I’m kind of not into that sort of thing,” Jack replied, carefully picking up the fresh fish. Chase had caught it for him, and that was nice of him, but the whole mating thing… that was just uncomfortable. If Chase had wanted to force him, though, he’d have done it last night. That was no reason not to be wary, however.

“Not yet. But you do appreciate my present, yes?” Chase asked, pulling his head completely out of the water. He looked above him, and then reached both of his hands up. He grabbed the top bar of the railing and tugged himself up and over. The boat rocked as he flopped onto the deck. Jack was experienced enough on the ocean that he managed to keep his feet steady.

“Yeah,” Jack muttered out, taking a step backward. “It’s a pretty big fish. Thank you?”

Chase nodded and dragged the rest of his tail over the railing. “The ocean is an unforgiving place, to those who do not live in it. What brings you this far out? It cannot be in the search of riches, for your ship is not big enough nor equipped like the, so you say, research… vessels?” The words were clumsy in his mouth—though it was more endearing than embarrassing.

“Vacation,” Jack reminded him.

“Humans do not come this far out for vacation.”

Jack shrugged. “Normal humans, maybe. But I like how isolated it is, out here. There’s nothing to worry about, no one judging you. No  _ deadlines.  _ Single-sailor vessels are typically quieter, too.” He flapped a hand. “I mean, when you don’t have a hugeass…” He left the question open.

“...sea dragon,” Chase supplied.

“Huge-ass  _ sea dragon,  _ knocking against the sides of your boat and getting caught in the rails in the middle of the night,” Jack finished. He was wary of Chase. How else was he supposed to feel? But Chase had made himself comfortable by the railing. The entirety of his tail took up nearly half the deck, stretching out—the tip flicked in the cool air.

Chase’s nostrils flared. “I was not stuck.”

“Nice try, but you were stuck,” Jack said with a playful smile. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell your friends.” He turned his eyes to the sky, shielding his face with a hand. He’d slathered on sunscreen down in the hold below. Sea-lover he was, but willing to be human bacon he wasn’t. “Are you really hanging around because you have some weird human kink?”

Chase stared at him for a moment—a long, tense moment—and then shook his head. Jack’s eye caught on movement in his hair, and he thought he saw a few dark, curious shrimp comb through it. He turned his head back toward Chase, whose thin lips remained pursed and pressed into a line.

“I am not sure what a  _ kink  _ is, though I can assure you that that is not why I’m interested in you.” Chase’s tail slid across the deck and Jack frowned at the amount of  _ slime  _ he was getting all over everything. “Though if you’re keen on making this easier, perhaps rolling over for me…” His eyes once again roamed over Jack’s body.

In the sunlight, Chase looked far more handsome than he had in the light of his flashlight. His jaw was stronger and peppered with what looked do be light stubble. Did mermaids— _ sea dragons _ —shave? Jack thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. It didn’t matter. And his eyes were so  _ black.  _ Jack’s shoulders jerked up around his ears when they focused on him.

“What do you think?” Chase asked.

“Nope,” Jack answered, voice shaking. Chase nodded. “You’re going to have to try harder.”

Chase smiled at him. Jack’s mouth went dry as it revealed sharp, no doubt deadly, teeth. “I relish the challenge,” Chase murmured. Jack’s cheeks went red and he looked away from him. There was a slick, slithering sound as Chase moved. When Jack looked up again, he was much closer than before. Within-grabbing-distance close.

Jack was suddenly nervous again.

A clawed hand slid across the deck—fingers played on the outside of Jack’s hand, tapping softly. Jack looked down at it, suddenly  _ very  _ interested. He flicked his eyes up at Chase, who turned his hand over and offered it to Jack. Jack carefully took it, running his fingers over the slick, odd-textured skin. It was smooth, scaled, and a light green—the fingers were long and a pale, almost pastel.

Each finger had an extra knuckle. The thumb and forefinger were attached by a thick, opaque webbing that was sticky to the touch. Chase shuddered as Jack rubbed his fingers across it and let out a curious hum. They were  _ beautiful.  _ In a weird, fishy kind of way.

“I thought you’d have webbing between all of your fingers,” Jack muttered out loud.

“My tail provides enough power to propel me through the water,” Chase replied. He tugged his hand away and then brought it up to cup Jack’s jaw. Jack’s breath hitched in his throat as Chase looked at him.  _ Inspecting  _ him. Jack swallowed. “You’ve an odd colouring for a human.” 

Jack nodded. “Yeah, a little bit,” he squeaked. Chase’s fingers dragged along the bottom of his jaw, teasing it with the sharp of his nails. He leaned forward and brushed their noses together, keeping the touch brief. “What are you doing?”

“Smelling,” Chase rumbled. “You smell of the sea.” His hand dropped back to the space between them—it’d grown smaller whilst Jack was distracted. “You’re the first human that truly smells of the sea. Are you sure you’re not a mercreature in disguise?”

The question was in jest, but it still had Jack blushing. Chase’s lips blew a chilly breath over Jack’s cheek. There was a low thud as the end of Chase’s tail smacked against the deck. He looked back at it like it’d offended him, before turning his attention back to Jack.

“What would be a pleasing gift, for you?” he asked. Jack wished he could see Chase’s pupils. To be able to read his expression. It would have helped him so  _ much. _

“Uh, I don’t know,” Jack murmured in response. Chase had caught his eye and now he couldn’t look away. “Science stuff? Candy?” He tapped his chin, running his finger across where Chase had touched. “I don’t know. I don’t…” He dropped his hands into his lap. “...I typically don’t get gifts. I just buy what I want, when I want it.”

“Surely you’ve a dozen or so suitors,” Chase said with certainty. A wandering hand slipped up and tugged at a piece of Jack’s hair. Chase curled it around his ring finger, turning his head to stare at it. “You are lovely. Otherworldly.”

Jack swallowed. “Well, I kind of am. I’m from the land, you’re from the sea.” Jack tried to keep his voice even. “I’m sort of otherworldly. A little bit.” He entwined his fingers together, locking them in place.

“Not in that way,” Chase teased, watching in interest as Jack’s hair sprang back, away from his finger. “I have seen many humans, and many mercreatures. You are something entirely different. It is a compliment.”

“I know it’s a compliment,” Jack huffed. He narrowed his eyes at Chase. “Don’t you have better things to do? Do sea dragons not have jobs?” He jabbed a finger at Chase without thinking. His finger met more of that smooth, scaled skin and, as if possessed, his hand spread out on Chase’s pectoral.

Chase chuckled as Jack’s face turned back to one of awe. “Do you the like the feel of it?”

“It’s better than your tail,” Jack grumbled. “It’s like you have snot rubbed all the way down it.” He turned his head to look at it in mild disgust.

“If we were in the water, you wouldn’t mind it,” Chase was smug, when he spoke. Jack pulled his hand back to himself and stuffed both of them in his armpits. “Would you like to try? You can swim, can’t you?”

“Not today,” Jack replied. “You might drown me.”

Chase snorted and leaned back—Jack expected him to lean onto his hands, but instead he just balanced backward, using the thick of his tail to support his body weight. “I would do no such thing. Abandoned ships bring unwanted attention. Besides, your death wouldn’t benefit me in any way. There are enough fish in the ocean around us to feed me for the rest of my life. But fish cannot provide companionship.”

“Or…” He paused and looked at Jack. “Or, a mate. It is lonely without a mate.”

“Oh no,” Jack told him, puffing out his cheeks in defiance. “You’re not going to pull the lonely card on me. I don’t care how lonely you are, it’s not going to get you into my pants.”

“I am stating a fact,” Chase rumbled out. “I did not ask for pity. I do not need it, to woo you.” He sounded insulted. Jack tried not to laugh and barely managed to conceal a smile with his hand. Chase made a soft trilling noise at him and jerked his head the tiniest bit. “My species is not that different from your own.”

Jack cocked an eyebrow and then looked at his tail. “One of us has faded into obscurity,” he pointed out. “You’re like, a legend back where I’m from. Or is it a myth? One is based in fact.” His brow furrowed. “Obviously you’re based in… fact? Sort of?”

“Mermaids and such have faded into obscurity. I have never existed in the books of man—though I have to say it is more due to our poor breeding habits. Most of us prefer isolation and it makes it hard to find partners to breed. Mercreatures fear us too much to get close and humans do not come out this deep, not on their own. Not like you have. And few humans are willing to save a creature such as myself, instead of shooting me on sight.”

“That’s because most humans are cunts. You know, I… I mean, I’m human.” He brought his hands up, now hugging himself again. “But I’m not… well, I’m not like everybody else.”

Chase blinked at him. “Obviously.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but in a different way. A different way that makes people scared of me.” He pulled his knees up in front of him and slapped his shoes against the deck—it made a dull, thudding sound. “So I get it.”

“They should be fearful of you,” Chase offered. Jack looked at him, scandalised. “Just as mercreatures should fear me. I am powerful. I eat their kind, when I am not looking for a mate.” Chase shrugged. “That is the way of life, you see. But you.”

Chase cocked his head to the side. “You are brave enough to face the ocean on your own. To look into the unknown and find the courage to explore it is a powerful thing. They fear you because they fear the unknown. That is not your fault.”

“That’s not what they’re scared of.”

“Then what?” Chase questioned. “What part of you is scary?”

Jack shook his head. “People… humans are really judgemental. They like to put everyone in boxes. I don’t fit in their boxes the way they want.” He pressed his forehead against his knees. He let out a weak laugh. “Why am I even telling you this? I don’t even know you.”

“Perhaps you simply needed to tell someone?” Chase asked curiously. “Why do they put you in boxes? Are the boxes too small?”

“No, I mean they make hasty judgements about me without getting to know me. Or they try to.” Jack answered, still laughing. He rubbed his eyes against his pants, drying his eyes before they had a chance to get wet. “They’re kind of… well, nasty about it.”

“Have you considered eating them?”

The idea was so ridiculous that Jack had to laugh, all desire to cry tossed out the window. He looked at Chase and shook his head. “Who, me? Cannibalism is illegal.”

Chase stared at him blankly. “Ah. Would you like that, as a gift then? You could bring these people out to the water and I could dispatch them for you. Therefore, it would not be cannibalism and you could be rid of them.”

“That is very romantic, and a very generous offer,” Jack told him, smiling at him. “But there are a lot of them.”

“I am very hungry. And what I cannot eat, the sea can have. She is ravenous.” He’d gotten incredibly close to Jack. Their shoulders touched now. “I am ravenous,” Chase whispered, dipping his head close. “I think you are perfect.”

“You don’t even know me,” Jack accused.

Chase brushed his lips across Jack’s cheek.

“I’d like to.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, hello, happy holidays! I hope you're having a wonderful winter season.
> 
> Song(s) for this fic:  
> Twiddles by the Misbehavin' Maidens (the song Jack is singing)  
> Six Feet by Patent Pending
> 
> Want to stay updated? Want to chat or shoot me a prompt? Have an idea that you'd like me to consider for this pairing? Feel free to click [here](http://everyday-im-preaching.tumblr.com/) to do all these things and more!


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